Page 66 - July 2015 Issue
P. 66
suffering from depersonalization and de-realization, phobias, ideas of reference and superstitions,
hallucinations, ideas of reference, delusions, and delusions, hallucinations, psychotic micro episodes,
psychotic episodes. and emotional latness.
Sometimes the victim comes to crave pain - very Depression and anxiety are very common. These are
much as self-mutilators do - because it is a proof and forms and manifestations of self-directed aggression.
a reminder of his individuated existence otherwise The sufferer rages at his own victimhood and results
blurred by the incessant torture. Pain shields the in multiple dysfunctions; He feels shamed by his new
sufferer from disintegration and capitulation. disabilities and responsible, or even guilty, somehow,
It preserves the veracity of his unthinkable and for his predicament and the dire consequences borne
unspeakable experiences. by his nearest and dearest. His sense of self-worth and
self-esteem are crippled.
This dual process of the victim’s alienation and
addiction to anguish complements the perpetrator’s In a nutshell, torture victims suffer from a post-
view of his quarry as “inhuman”, or “subhuman”. The traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Their strong
torturer assumes the position of the sole authority, feelings of anxiety, guilt, and shame are also typical
the exclusive fount of meaning and interpretation, the of victims of childhood abuse, domestic violence,
source of both evil and good. and rape. They feel anxious because the perpetrator’s
behavior is seemingly arbitrary and unpredictable - or
Torture is about reprogramming the victim to succumb mechanically and inhumanly regular.
to an alternative exegesis of the world, proffered by
the abuser. It is an act of deep, indelible, traumatic They feel guilty and disgraced because, to restore
indoctrination. The abused also swallows whole and a semblance of order to their shattered world and a
assimilates the torturer’s negative view of him and modicum of dominion over their chaotic life, they need
often, as a result, is rendered suicidal, self-destructive, to transform themselves into the cause of their own
or self-defeating. degradation and the accomplices of their tormentors.
Thus, torture has no cut-off date. The sounds, the The CIA, in its “Human Resource Exploitation
voices, the smells, the sensations reverberate long Training Manual - 1983” (reprinted in the April 1997
after the episode has ended - both in nightmares issue of Harper’s Magazine), summed up the theory of
and in waking moments. The victim’s ability to coercion thus:
trust other people - i.e., to assume that their motives
are at least rational, if not necessarily benign - has “The purpose of all coercive techniques is to induce
been irrevocably undermined. Social institutions are psychological regression in the subject by bringing
perceived as precariously poised on the verge of an a superior outside force to bear on his will to resist.
ominous, Kafkaesque mutation. Nothing is either safe Regression is basically a loss of autonomy, a reversion
or credible anymore. to an earlier behavioral level. As the subject regresses,
his learned personality traits fall away in reverse
Victims typically react by undulating between chronological order. He begins to lose the capacity
emotional numbing and increased arousal: insomnia, to carry out the highest creative activities, to deal
irritability, restlessness, and attention deicits. with complex situations, or to cope with stressful
Recollections of the traumatic events intrude in interpersonal relationships or repeated frustrations.”
the form of dreams, night terrors, lashbacks, and
distressing associations. Inevitably, in the aftermath of torture, its victims
The tortured develop compulsive rituals to fend off feel helpless and powerless. This loss of control
obsessive thoughts. Other psychological sequelae over one’s life and body is manifested physically in
reported include cognitive impairment, reduced impotence, attention deicits, and insomnia. This is
capacity to learn, memory disorders, sexual often exacerbated by the disbelief many torture victims
dysfunction, social withdrawal, inability to maintain encounter, especially if they are unable to produce
long-term relationships, or even mere intimacy, scars, or other “objective” proof of their ordeal.
66
hallucinations, ideas of reference, delusions, and delusions, hallucinations, psychotic micro episodes,
psychotic episodes. and emotional latness.
Sometimes the victim comes to crave pain - very Depression and anxiety are very common. These are
much as self-mutilators do - because it is a proof and forms and manifestations of self-directed aggression.
a reminder of his individuated existence otherwise The sufferer rages at his own victimhood and results
blurred by the incessant torture. Pain shields the in multiple dysfunctions; He feels shamed by his new
sufferer from disintegration and capitulation. disabilities and responsible, or even guilty, somehow,
It preserves the veracity of his unthinkable and for his predicament and the dire consequences borne
unspeakable experiences. by his nearest and dearest. His sense of self-worth and
self-esteem are crippled.
This dual process of the victim’s alienation and
addiction to anguish complements the perpetrator’s In a nutshell, torture victims suffer from a post-
view of his quarry as “inhuman”, or “subhuman”. The traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Their strong
torturer assumes the position of the sole authority, feelings of anxiety, guilt, and shame are also typical
the exclusive fount of meaning and interpretation, the of victims of childhood abuse, domestic violence,
source of both evil and good. and rape. They feel anxious because the perpetrator’s
behavior is seemingly arbitrary and unpredictable - or
Torture is about reprogramming the victim to succumb mechanically and inhumanly regular.
to an alternative exegesis of the world, proffered by
the abuser. It is an act of deep, indelible, traumatic They feel guilty and disgraced because, to restore
indoctrination. The abused also swallows whole and a semblance of order to their shattered world and a
assimilates the torturer’s negative view of him and modicum of dominion over their chaotic life, they need
often, as a result, is rendered suicidal, self-destructive, to transform themselves into the cause of their own
or self-defeating. degradation and the accomplices of their tormentors.
Thus, torture has no cut-off date. The sounds, the The CIA, in its “Human Resource Exploitation
voices, the smells, the sensations reverberate long Training Manual - 1983” (reprinted in the April 1997
after the episode has ended - both in nightmares issue of Harper’s Magazine), summed up the theory of
and in waking moments. The victim’s ability to coercion thus:
trust other people - i.e., to assume that their motives
are at least rational, if not necessarily benign - has “The purpose of all coercive techniques is to induce
been irrevocably undermined. Social institutions are psychological regression in the subject by bringing
perceived as precariously poised on the verge of an a superior outside force to bear on his will to resist.
ominous, Kafkaesque mutation. Nothing is either safe Regression is basically a loss of autonomy, a reversion
or credible anymore. to an earlier behavioral level. As the subject regresses,
his learned personality traits fall away in reverse
Victims typically react by undulating between chronological order. He begins to lose the capacity
emotional numbing and increased arousal: insomnia, to carry out the highest creative activities, to deal
irritability, restlessness, and attention deicits. with complex situations, or to cope with stressful
Recollections of the traumatic events intrude in interpersonal relationships or repeated frustrations.”
the form of dreams, night terrors, lashbacks, and
distressing associations. Inevitably, in the aftermath of torture, its victims
The tortured develop compulsive rituals to fend off feel helpless and powerless. This loss of control
obsessive thoughts. Other psychological sequelae over one’s life and body is manifested physically in
reported include cognitive impairment, reduced impotence, attention deicits, and insomnia. This is
capacity to learn, memory disorders, sexual often exacerbated by the disbelief many torture victims
dysfunction, social withdrawal, inability to maintain encounter, especially if they are unable to produce
long-term relationships, or even mere intimacy, scars, or other “objective” proof of their ordeal.
66
